MANILA, Philippines — The country’s agricultural trade value declined at a faster pace in the fourth quarter of 2020 to $4.66 billion amid restrictions still due to the pandemic, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Latest data from PSA showed agricultural trade went down 6.8 percent to $4.66 billion in the October to December 2020 period from $5 billion in 2019.
Bulk of the trade were agricultural imports at 68.5 percent, while the remaining 31.5 percent were exports.
Total balance of trade in agricultural goods was $1.72 billion, resulting in a deficit with a minimal annual increase of 0.1 percent.
Total agricultural exports dipped 10.4 percent to $1.47 billion, a share of 8.2 percent to the total exports in the fourth quarter.
Agricultural imports also reflected a decrease of 5.1 percent valued at $3.19 billion compared with $3.36 billion in 2019. Agri imports were 13.5 percent of the total imports for the country.
Top exported agricultural commodities include animals or vegetable oils, edible fruits and nuts, preparation of vegetables, fruits, nuts, meat, fish, and crustaceans, and tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes.
Completing the major export commodities were preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastry cooks’ products, gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts, miscellaneous edible preparations, and beverages, spirits and vinegar.
On the other hand, major import commodities during the period were cereals, miscellaneous edible preparations, residues and waste from the food industries, dairy produce, and animals or vegetable oils.
Among the ASEAN-member countries, Malaysia was the top destination for exports with a 41 percent share valued at $71.6 million, while Indonesia was the top supplier of agricultural products reaching $315.51 million or a 32 percent share.
The top three major agricultural commodities exported to ASEAN member countries were tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes at $61.73 million, animal and vegetable fats and oils at $40.31 million, and edible fruits and nuts at $11.7 million.
As for exports in EU-member countries which totaled to $213.31 million, Netherlands was the country’s top trading partner of agricultural commodities with exports reaching $90.57 million and imports amounting to $70.92 million.
The top three agricultural commodities imported from EU member countries were meat and edible meat offal at $89.47 million; dairy produce, birds’ eggs, natural honey, edible products of animal origin at $75.14 million; and residues and waste from food industries and prepared animal fodder at $32.65 million.